Sunday, January 25, 2015

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time


Link to today's readings
Jonah 3: 1-5 + Psalm 25: 4-9 + 1 Cor. 7: 29-31 + Mark 1: 14-20


Click here to listen to this homily
Given at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on January 25, 2015



This is the only time we hear from the Book of Jonah in the 3-year cycle of readings. Scholars agree that it is not a historical book, but more of a didactic tool, a way to teach about the greatness of God’s mercy. That mercy flows into the lives of the people of Nineveh through the most unlikely of prophets, Jonah himself, who is not too excited about his mission.


You know the story. Jonah runs the other way when God first calls him to go to Nineveh. Why? The Ninevites are part of the hated Assyrian Empire, fierce enemies of the people of Israel. Jonah wants no part of extending God’s mercy to his enemies. Besides, they might even kill him. But God has other plans as fleeing Jonah is tossed overboard into the sea and delivered to Nineveh via sea-mail. After those 3 days in the belly of the whale, Jonah reluctantly does what God asks. Amazingly, God uses the prophet’s half-hearted in his call to repentance—“40 days more and the city of Nineveh will be destroyed” to shake up the people of Nineveh, from top to bottom. Immediately,  the people repent, from greatest to smallest.  Immediately! The Ninevites hear the call of God, and they leave their former way of life, in order to follow in God’s way


Jonah’s response---he sulks.  In fact, he becomes angry with God when a

little bush that gives him shade from the scalding sun shrivels up and dies.

So God tells Jonah, in no uncertain terms, that the lives of the people of Nineveh are more important to God than a little shade bush.


Jonah is challenged to see that God’s ways are not his ways, that God’s mercy

is greater than he can understand, even saving his enemies from their evil ways. This little book in the Old Testament reveals the universal call of God to salvation—the Divine Desire to save all people!


The Church chooses to pair the message of God’s mercy calling people to repentance with today’s Gospel passage in Mark because of Jesus’ call to repentance. But the message goes to a whole new level in this Gospel passage. For now it is God in the flesh making this appeal, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Now it is the Son of God calling out for people to repent, not a reluctant prophet.


The Greek word for “repent” is “metanoia”, which literally means, “change your mind,” “change the way you think.” Jesus challenges those first hearers of his message and us to change the way we think about God. You think the kingdom of God is far away—well, it’s right here at hand. You think God is distant--think again, because God is close enough to touch in Jesus. You think God does not care about your life—then listen to the Good News—God does, even enough to become one with us in Jesus in order to show us the way to life.


The focus in the Gospel is not so much on what those first disciples are leaving behind, but rather on what they are gaining. They are gaining a friend who desires their highest good, a friend whom they will eventually come to know as their Savior and Lord.


After all, everyone is going to give their life to someone or something,

everyone is going to spend their life following someone or something.

Why not choose to follow Jesus who promises abundant life? Why not give one’s life fully to Jesus who helps them see God and God’s doings in a new way?


Many people hear this Gospel passage and think about it in terms of “vocation”, that is the call of God to a special few to leave everything behind in order to follow the Lord. So they think this story is about those who choose to follow the call to a “religious” life:  to become a priest or a monk or a nun. But this is simply not the case—for the Lord Jesus calls every one of us to follow him.

He calls every one of us to repent and believe in the great good news of the gospel.



The fathers of the 2nd Vatican Council spoke about this in terms of a

“universal call to holiness.” Every single person God creates is called into a deep relationship of love with God by being a disciple of the Lord Jesus.


Lay People are not called to leave everything like the first disciples.Repentance instead means re-prioritizing your life. You are not called to leave job and family, but to make the following of Jesus in daily life your #1 priority. To say by the choices you make in life, “My relationship with Jesus comes first. Everything else falls into place after that.”


What James and John teach us by leaving their father in the boat in order to follow Jesus is that family cannot be more important than our relationship with Jesus. What all four of those first disciples teach us by leaving their work behind

to follow the Lord is that one’s job cannot become one’s God.



So, repentance for all of us is a matter of reprioritizing, of making our relationship with the Lord Jesus the most important matter of our life. To always ask the question:  “Does this person or this thing help me follow the Lord or is this person or thing drawing me away from the Lord?”



Being a disciple of Jesus Christ does not mean our lives will be easy or free of trials or other difficulties. In this “Year of Mark,” as we journey with Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John, and the other disciples, we will discover that being a disciple of Christ Jesus can be challenging. We will see our story written in their story:  misunderstandings, failures, and suffering are all part of the story.


Along the way we will learn with them from the Lord how the power of self-giving love for the benefit of others transforms the world.


That humble service of others is the way to greatness in the Kingdom of God.



That the way to abundant life is not by taking but by giving. That the way to joy is not by possessing more or better things, but by being more fully possessed by the love of Christ.



That the way to lasting peace is not the way of trying to control everything in our life, but by surrendering our lives with Christ to the Father. Which is what we do at every celebration of the Eucharist.





Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi

Sunday, January 18, 2015

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Link to today's readings
1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19 | Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10 | 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20 | John 1:35-42


Click here to listen to this homily
Given by Deacon Paul Lewis at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Mustang, OK on January 18, 2015

This past week, the Church began what might be described as the wearing of the green. The Christmas decorations are put away and the Church enters into this period we call Ordinary Time, at least for a few weeks until we begin Lent next month. The Gospel we will hear from most during this coming year is the Gospel of Mark. However, because it is the shortest Gospel, we will also be hearing from the Gospel of John on a few of these Sundays of Ordinary Time.
 

Today is one of those days. If we look back at our own life, we know where we were when we experienced significant moments. It was December 25, 1984, at about 7:30 in the morning when my wife and I first felt the kick of our oldest son. I know where I was and what time it was when my mom called to inform me of my grandfather’s death. I know the moment that I heard about planes slamming into the World Trade Center. We know these moments of our lives.
 

When we tell the stories, we recall what time of day and where we were when they happen. “It was about four in the afternoon.” These are words that often get overlooked in this Gospel reading. Perhaps it is seen as an insignificant detail. 

Who are these two followers of John the Baptist? We know one is named Andrew who is the brother of Simon Peter. What about the other? It is understood by many scholars that this un-named disciple is the Evangelist himself, the disciple whom Jesus loved, John the Beloved Disciple.
 

It is from him that tradition tells us this Gospel was handed down in the late first century. And so John, just like us, is telling the story. “It was about four in the afternoon.” These are not insignificant words to be passed over. They mark that moment when John, and Andrew, ceased being followers of John the Baptist, and become disciples of Jesus Christ. It’s that moment in time when Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” They reply, “Where are you staying?” And Jesus answers, “Come and you will see.” Their lives will never be the same.
 

When we encounter the scriptures, sometimes we do so from a rather historical/critical viewpoint. We tend to want to intellectualize this encounter.
There is a place for that, and it is good to delve into that... at times! But Jesus waits for us to encounter him on a more personal level. This evangelist, John, wants us to experience what he has experienced. Jesus desires that we make this Gospel about ourselves. 


And so, as people of faith, Jesus poses the same question to us. “What are you looking for?” What is it that we seek? Do we allow others to tell us what we are looking for? Too often, we allow political agendas, talk radio, surveys and news tell us what we should think or do rather than being fully engaged in our world directly. This is especially true when we look at political figures. It's easier to let so-called political commentators tell us what we should think, and who we should demonize.
 

As people of faith, faith in Jesus Christ, we are called to more. We might allow others to tell us what it means to encounter Jesus rather than pointing us to and opening the doors to the mystery of Jesus’ presence in our lives. We may find ourselves idolizing what others have, what they do, who they are, rather than discovering the unique ways God reveals himself in and through our own personal lives. It is what we might call secondhand faith. This kind of faith is not transformative. Second hand faith denies the freedom to encounter this Jesus who beckons us, "Come and you will see."
 

I can describe to you a beautiful sunset, tell you about the colors I have seen,
but to truly know what is being described, one has to be there and experience it themselves, firsthand. Would we rather hear a love story, or would we rather fall in love and live the love story? Would you rather know about Christ or know him? That’s the difference between a secondhand faith and a firsthand experience. We must choose whether we will be spectators of Jesus' life or participants in his life.
 

That was the choice John the Baptist set before his disciples. John “was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” It was their moment of decision. Would they stay or would they go? Would they settle for a secondhand faith, information and facts about Jesus, or would they choose a firsthand experience of his life? If they choose a firsthand experience they will have to leave John behind. They will have to let go of that which is familiar, comfortable, and known. The will have to open themselves to something new and something different.
 

Looking back on our lives, we can probably remember times like that. It can be difficult to let go of a secondhand faith and life. It usually means there will be more questions than answers. What are you looking for? Where are you staying? Those are not so much questions to be answered as they are experiences waiting and wanting to be lived. A firsthand experience invites us to discover the answers by living the questions.
 

Think how different today’s gospel would be if Jesus had just answered their question. “Where are you staying?” “Oh, it’s just a couple miles down this road. Second house on the left.” What do we do with that? How does that change anything? What difference does it make if we know Jesus’ address but we are not invited in? We might as well stay where we are.
 

But that’s not how Jesus responds. Jesus offers more than his address. “Come and see,” he says. There is reassurance and promise in his words. That means that he has something for us. It means that he is opening himself to us and inviting us in. He has gone ahead of us and prepared a place for us. Regardless of what’s going on in our life he makes it safe to move forward and take the next step in confidence that his life and presence await us. “Come and see” is his invitation to find ourselves and discover our lives. "It was about four in the afternoon." 

Many of us have had "four o'clock" moments. Mine, as I've described before was June 24, 2012 at about 8:30 in the evening. Many of us can mark that time in our life when this "Come and see" from Jesus has been deeply personal. And it is not something that we can make happen. As a wise spiritual director told me one time, all we are to do is to just show up. Show up in the silence and prayer. Show up and ask, "Rabbi, where are you staying?"
 

Jesus is there waiting, waiting for our asking, waiting with anticipation for that moment when our lives will never be the same, waiting to share with us our four o'clock moment.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Baptism of the Lord - 11 Jan 2015

Isaiah 55: 1-11 + Psalm 29: 1-4, 9-10 + 1 John 5: 1-9 + Mark 1: 7-11

Click here to listen to this homily
Given at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Mustang, OK on January 11, 2015

Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what fails to satisfy? We are no different from the people of Isaiah’s day. We think this thing or that thing will satisfy our hunger, but we find ourselves still hungry, still dissatisfied. We are like a kid 2 weeks after Christmas—the toys he thought would bring him lasting happiness are pushed to the side, and he is looking for something more. Except as adults, we waste our wages on bigger toys, but nothing ever seems to fill the hole in the soul, nothing ever quenches our thirst.

We are hungry for God, hungering for God, and nothing but God can satisfy that hunger. For we who are hungering for God, we need not waste our wages,

for we do not need to pay for the freely given gift of the bread come down from heaven, Jesus, the Christ. So the Lord invites us to come and drink of His love and experience new life: Come to the water, all you who are thirsty.

With the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we conclude this Christmas Season.
The Scripture readings gleam with the glory of this Season, when God became human to feed our hunger for union with God. The word of God that we break open today reveals how Christmas is connected to Easter. The birth and life and death and resurrection of Christ are all necessary to seal the everlasting covenant God has made with humankind.

The One who was born that we might no longer die forever, the One whose birth has given us new life and whose death has destroyed the power of death---he is the One who seeks us out to feed us with His love, to share with us His life.
The Sacraments of the Church usher us into this life-giving, thirst-quenching,
hunger-satisfying relationship with God through Christ in the Spirit. Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation---traditionally called the Sacraments of Initiation—draw us into the eternal covenant the Triune God has made with humankind,
to love us always and share with us divine life. In the waters of baptism, we died with Christ, and rose with him to new life, as adopted children of God. We drank of the water of new life and entered into a new relationship with God and with all the baptized as a member of the family of God. Beloved by God, the favor of God rests upon us. We no longer need to go on a frustrating search, looking for love in all the wrong places, because love has found us.

The Son of God, born in a rush of blood and water from the womb of Mary, is born again on the cross when the soldier’s spear opens up his side--- blood and water rush forth, signs of the sacramental life of the Church. The free and complete gift of his life on the cross opens the door for us into the house of God, to dwell with God forever. At every Eucharist, when we drink from the cup of the New Covenant, drinking of the Blood of Christ, we renew the Covenant of our baptism.

So, we rise up from the waters of new life in order to come to the table of the Lord, to celebrate his life-giving death until the end of time, to drink of his life poured out for us. Jesus Christ is the Living Bread come down from heaven who satisfies our hunger for God and as we receive Him, the life of God grows in us.
The Lord’s mercies are renewed in us each time we eat and drink of his Body and Blood, and we remember who we are—God’s beloved sons and daughters.  
Sealed by the same Spirit which tears open the heavens, uniting heaven and earth, we are confirmed in the new life in Christ. Our life in the Spirit, sealed at Confirmation, is nourished over and over again at every Eucharist. As we come streaming forward to receive the One for whom we hunger and thirst, we renew our commitment to Jesus Christ, to make him the center of our life, our heart’s number one desire.

The way God made us, we need to constantly renew our commitment to Him.
That’s why the weekly celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is so central to our faith — it is the way that we renew our commitment to hold up our end of the covenant sealed in the blood of Christ. We do not practice our faith in private, all alone. In order to believe, and to nourish and strengthen our belief in God’s goodness and love, we do so as members of a community of faith.
Those who come to the life-giving waters of baptism are not left on their own,
but come to the table of the Lord with others.

Together, we help each other renew our part of the covenant and we help one another to be faithful to the One who faithfulness to us is everlasting. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord teaches us that our faith is about more than adoring a cute infant in a manger. The life of faith means engaging in a adult relationship with the Son of God who asks something of us. He wants to teach us how to live as a beloved child of God. Jesus’ way of living needs to become our way of living, his mission become our mission. He asks us to follow him by continuing his mission of giving himself to a world that hungers for him. He gives himself to others in and through us.

Like Jesus, our baptism is the foundational event of our life, for from baptism flows our true identity. With the beloved Son of God, we were adopted into God’s family as beloved sons and daughters. So that even when we feel empty, we can be full of the knowledge that we are still God’s beloved sons and daughters. Even as we live in a world which is not safe, where acts of violence can take our loved ones from our sides or even do harm to our own life, we still know who we are—beloved.  Even when we are powerless in the face of sickness or other suffering, we, like the Beloved Son on the cross, can still cry out, “Abba, Father” because we are still God’s beloved sons and daughters.


But we need the help of each other, as brothers and sisters in the family of God, to remind one another of our God given dignity, of our eternal status as beloved children of God. Too often we focus only on our failures and shortcomings, and forget who we are. Others wake us up to the divine presence residing in us.
About a month ago, a young boy was leaving church after Mass, and as he scooted by me, he said, “Bye, God.” Then, as he went by Deacon Paul, he said, “Bye, Jesus.” Deacon Paul and I looked at each other and laughed, but afterwards I thought of the gift the little child had given, pointing out the divine dwelling within us. Alone we too often forget who we are, but with others, we remember. On our own it is difficult to remain true to who we are, but with others help, we can remain faithful to our God-given identity.

In this way we fulfill our mission by continuing the divine presence on earth.


Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Epiphany - 4 Jan 2015

Isaiah 60:1-6 + Psalm 72:1-2, 7-13 + Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 + Matthew 2:1-12

Click here to listen to this homily
Given at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on January 4, 2015

The magi from the east know things about the newborn babe in Bethlehem. This knowledge has propelled them on a long and dangerous journey so they might properly adore this newborn King.

Their gifts show how well they know who this baby is lying in the manger. The wise men bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh,
each gift revealing something about this child of Mary. Gold, a gift for his humanity, a gift befitting an earthly king. Frankincense, a gift for his divinity, fragrant grains burned in prayer before God. And myrrh, an ointment used to prepare the body for burial, a gift pointing ahead to the gift of his saving death.

By their gifts, the magi show that they know who this child is: the human embodiment of divine love.

Gift-giving on the highest level happens when one person is carried into the other by means of the gift given. The gift becomes a symbolic expression of knowing and being known, of loving and being loved. Gift-giving at its very best connects two hearts as one.

We all have experienced the giving and receiving of gifts. Hopefully we have all given or received a gift this Christmas which symbolized a flow of love between us and another. This is a “perfect” gift. But we have also received or given other types of “gifts.”

For there are those gifts that we give or receive as objects that are only valuable, or not valuable, in and of themselves, that do not represent the heart of the giver. We do not really receive such gifts when they are given---we rate them. When we receive such gifts, they are simply objects and nothing more. These gifts do not connect our heart to the heart of the one gifting us with the object.
We have no qualms about “re-gifting” such a gift. Or we may simply store it away and forget about it. But a gift that comes from someone who knows us and loves us, and who we know and love, such a gift has special power and meaning. Such a gift makes visible an invisible reality, a flow of love connecting 2 people, something beautiful and powerful and radiant.

A story exemplifying this kind of redemptive gift-giving is O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi.” It is a story about a married couple named Jim and Della. Although they are poor, they each have a proud possession. Della has beautiful long hair and Jim has “The Watch.”
As Christmas nears, Della cuts her hair, sells it, and buys Jim a “platinum fob chain” for his watch. When she gives it to him, Jim reveals that he has sold his watch and bought her a set of “pure tortoise shell” combs for her hair. Della and Jim are the wisest in the world of gift-giving. Jim and Della are wise because although their gifts are objectively useless, they carry both of them into each other.
The gifts strengthen their relationship, assuring them they know and are known; they love and are loved.

Or take my experience this past Christmas, when I spent a couple of hours with a family I have known for many years. The parents, and their children, and their children’s children, sat in a huge circle,
taking turns as each one opened a gift. One of the young granddaughters, about 9 years old, squealed with delight when she opened a gift from her grandmother, a simple looking blue sweater. 
She yelled out, “O Grandma, it’s beautiful.  You know my favorite color is blue.” She skipped away to her room and came back wearing the sweater, dancing with delight, her eyes sparkling with gratitude and love. She ran to her grandmother and threw herself into her grandmother’s arms.

Gift-giving on the highest level happens when one person is carried into the other. Gift-giving at its very best connects two hearts as one.

God knows us better than we know ourselves, and loves us more
than anyone can ever love us. With such wisdom and love, God gives us the greatest gift ever given, the gift of His Son. The invisible flow of love from God the Creator to His Creation becomes visible in Jesus. Divine love becomes concrete in Jesus. The Son of God in the flesh as the child of Mary makes visible the Father’s love
for all his children. Jesus of Nazareth, God-in-the-flesh, is the greatest gift ever given to the world.

God knows exactly what we need, and so God gives us His Only Son.
God knows we cannot save ourselves, so God gifts us with a Savior.
God knows we often become lost in the darkness of this world, so God gives us the One who is the Light of the World. God knows we hunger for divine life, so he gives us His Son, born in a feeding rough, as the Living Bread come down from heaven.

The Almighty God, the source of wisdom and life and from whom every good gift comes, knows us not just in a generic sense as members of the human race, but also knows what we specifically need as individuals. So the Lord Jesus comes to each of us in a very personal way, aware of our unique fears and worries, knowing what gives us the most joy and delight. The Lord Jesus, the human embodiment of divine love, knows the particular demons that torment us, the struggles that are unique to each one of us,
and he comes as God’s gift to us in a very personal way. He knows us and loves us and wants to help us in matters big and small.

What will our gift to Jesus be? How about giving him the gift of our very self by coming to know him better? By daily spending time with him in prayerful conversation. By coming to know him better as the Divine Word made Flesh by immersing ourselves in the divinely inspired words of Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels. By coming to know Him, who in and through all things are created,through the beauty of Creation, especially through the pinnacle of Creation, human beings made in God’s likeness. By loving him present in the least ones among us. In all these ways, and many others, we can give the Lord Jesus the gift of our very self, and we receive Him, and then slowly but surely, His heart and our heart beat as one. 

Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi